My rental cash flow and rent collections for March 2016 went very well. All but one was collected by 3/5, although I did have more difficulty than in previous months. One renter still needs to pay an additional $150, which will be paid on 3/18.
When a renter need to make the rent payments in multiple days, make sure you get a sizable chunk at the first of the month. Do not let a renter pay on the 15th, and more on the 25th. At some point, you will be evicting, and you will be a month behind.
I had another renter that may be an issue, and some vacancies coming up. The month was not as smooth as previous months, here is how the rental cash flow went…
Rents Collected
I did have three tenants that had issues in the past couple of months.
Tenant One
The rents for March were collected on time except for $150. That will be paid late, and it’s my tenant that I have had the longest. She always pays, so I am not worried about it.
Tenant Two
I had a bounced check in February. My tenants got married, switched the accounts to a combined account, and wrote the check on the ‘wrong’ account.
- They called to let me know after it had bounced, and before I knew it was going to bounce. That is good.
- They were in Mexico at the time… That is bad.
- I charged a late fee and a bounced check fee. $105 total. That is good.
Tenant Three
I went to deposit a check I picked up on Friday, and since the tenant banks at the same bank as I do, I requested immediate availability of the funds. The teller could not do that as there was not enough money in the account. I still have the check in my wallet, and will attempt to do it before Monday before the banks close. The tenant said it would be good by Monday when I asked her about it.
On Monday the check was still not good, so I ask the tenant to make it good, move out by the weekend, or I would evict in the morning. She assured me it would be good on the 11th, so I let it ride and it was good. Next month, I am worried about already. I waived the late fee, but will likely have to get a new tenant soon.
Rental Vacancies
All the apartments have been full since December 5, 2015, almost 4 months. It’s almost a bit surreal; as I typically have more things to do other than just collect rents. I do perform a few small fixes, but even those items are rare lately (*cross fingers).
When I am full, it’s close to $26K in gross rents. By mid-summer, it should be over $27K in gross rents, as I have an additional rental coming online, and am raising rents a bit.
I have a rental turn on 3/15, which I have already filled. I also have another tenant that will be moving out on 3/31/16. That is a 6-year tenant, and the turn will require a full paint job, new carpet and installing a washer and dryer. Once those improvements are complete, I should be able to get an extra $100+ from the apartment.
I received notice that my tenant that moved in last year will be leaving on 5/31. I have started to advertise it and have received ~20 calls and emails in the first day.
Rent Increases
I have given 6 rent increases so far. The first one is due on 4/1, for an extra $25. Four more are due on 5/1, for an extra $100. Another tenant got a new dog, so that’s an extra $25.
I generally only raise rents by a small amount, and most renters do not have a problem with paying an extra $20. They know my expenses go up, and their income is going up.
This year, I have a created a list so I do not wait too long before I raise the severely under-market rents. Every $25 collected is another $300 at the end of the year. I anticipate being able to add another ~$250 in rent increases, or more per month, in 2016.
| Date | Prev Rent | New Rent | Difference | 2016 Vacancy Days |
New Tenant? |
| 01/01/16 | $1,295 | $1,295 | $0 | 0 | No |
| 01/01/16 | $1,100 | $1,100 | $0 | 0 | No |
| 01/01/16 | $1,050 | $1,050 | $0 | 0 | No |
| 01/01/16 | $1,050 | $1,050 | $0 | 0 | No |
| 01/01/16 | $1,125 | $1,150 | $25 | 0 | Pet Rent |
| 01/01/16 | $1,150 | $1,150 | $0 | 0 | No |
| 01/01/16 | $1,125 | $1,125 | $0 | 0 | No |
| 01/01/16 | $950 | $975 | $25 | 0 | No |
| 01/01/16 | $1,000 | $1,025 | $25 | 0 | No |
| 01/01/16 | $1,075 | $1,075 | $0 | 0 | No |
| 03/15/16 | $1,100 | $1,150 | $50 | 0 | Yes |
| 01/01/16 | $1,020 | $1,025 | $5 | 0 | No |
| 01/01/16 | $975 | $1,000 | $25 | 0 | No |
| 01/01/16 | $1,050 | $1,075 | $25 | 0 | No |
| 01/01/16 | $950 | $975 | $25 | 0 | No |
| 01/01/16 | $1,050 | $1,075 | $25 | 0 | No |
| 01/01/16 | $1,100 | $1,050 | ($50) | 0 | Pet Removed |
| 01/01/16 | $1,150 | $1,150 | $0 | 0 | No |
| 01/01/16 | $1,100 | $1,125 | $25 | 0 | Add dog |
| 01/01/16 | $1,100 | $1,125 | $25 | 0 | No |
| 01/01/16 | $1,150 | $1,150 | $0 | 0 | No |
| 01/01/16 | $1,100 | $1,125 | $25 | 0 | No |
| 01/01/16 | $1,100 | $1,100 | $0 | 0 | No |
| 01/01/16 | $1,020 | $1,020 | $0 | 0 | No |
| 05/01/16 | $0 | $830 | $830 | 0 | New Rental |
| Total | $25,885 | $26,970 | $1,085 | 0 | 1 |
New Rental Purchase
The rental I picked up in January should be coming on-line in terms of rents collected on 4/1/16. Since I purchased the property from the renters, sort of, I am giving them a bit of a deal at first. I will explain in a future post, as soon as all things are 100% finalized just how the property was acquired.
The property was non-MLS deal. It is a 3 BR, 2 BA single family home. It had a new roof in 2012, and has vinyl siding, and a newer furnace and water heater. It was purchased with cash, although it was really a certified cashier’s check. The rent will be $830 per month, which is significantly under market. It was purchased for about 1/3 of what the Zillow price is, and about 50% of what I think the actual market value is.
I am giving them a break on the first two month’s rent, and they will pay $415 for April and May and will pay the full $830 for June 1st. Once this is fully functional, I should have in excess of $27K in gross rents.
Considering my mortgage payments are only $3,340, it’s not a bad cash flow number. Once I pay off the mortgage I am focusing on by year end, it will even be better.
Rental Maintenance Items
There really wasn’t too much maintenance that required a significant sum of month since the first often year. I like low maintenance costs. I did replace a furnace, which I 100% hired out. I did not have the time, or the ambition to do it myself. I have replaced several in the past, and it’s about a $500 savings to do it with a friend. In the winter, you need to make darn sure you can complete the job the same day.
Here are a few expenses that I incurred.
New Furnace $1,875
Fix range element $20
Fix tub spout $20
Upcoming Maintenance
I do have some significant expenses in April. I am upgrading the electrical panels in three properties. The new property will be changed from a fuse panel to a circuit breaker panel. The other two properties will be changed to a more modern panel that may eliminate some flickering light issues. I have seen this issue before, and the problem can be fixed with a new panel.
New Electrical panels on three properties ~8K.
Have you had a solid month in terms of savings and cash flow? Did you stick to your budget?
Nice job Eric. That’s some crazy numbers. Keep it up bud. You’re doing wonderful and you’re killing it. That’s a great gig you got there and I’m happy for you. You’re crazy hustling it bud.
Sounds like a full time job. It’s worth it though bud. Cheers and congrats.
Thank you for reading!
It has been a pretty vigorous process, but it seems like I have a solid cash flow situation now.
Well I don’t anticipate us moving up from our one rental unit anytime soon. But seeing something like this is really encouraging and motivating. Makes me want to move down this path over time.
Neat overview and interesting details.
Just our of curiosity, how do you (mentally) deal with periods of no tenants? We currently have one unit that was just renovated, but we struggling to find the right tenants (have had various interested parties, but they either wanted to smoke inside or were lowballing or wanted short term contracts). Still no luck though… frustrating and expensive.
How many bedrooms do the majority of your rentals have ?
All my rentals have three bedrooms. Some have one bath, some have two.